


A Second Chance

by Szallejh



Category: Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal Series - J.M. Lee, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Adventure, Amnesia, Dark Crystal, Dousan, Fanfiction, Gelfling, Kare'Sia, Multi, Romance, Skeksis - Freeform, karesia, sia, sifa, the dark ctystal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25895488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Szallejh/pseuds/Szallejh
Summary: Waking up without any memories, Sia tries to retrace the steps she has made to find out who she really is. On her journey all over Thra, she not only meets some amazing friends that help her through her struggles, but also finds herself in the midst of the resistance against the Skeksis' reign of terror. And in addition, a very dark secret is revealed about her past...
Relationships: Amri/Naia (Dark Crystal)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Prisoner

Pain.

It was all she felt when she woke up. Pulsing through her veins, blocking out every other thoughts and sensations. She didn’t know where it came from, but she wanted it to stop. Mentally begging for someone to help her, not even knowing whom she prayed to. When the pain didn’t subside, she just wanted to fall asleep again. Go back to the dark and peaceful place she had been before, but the throb in her head wouldn’t allow her to.

Time passed by, but she couldn’t say if it was hours or days that she just lay there, holding her aching head, not even knowing if her eyes were open or closed. While the pain didn’t cease, her mind seemed to get used to it at some point, and more sensations reached her. She was still lying on the floor, on cold and wet stone. Her whole body was cold, covered with chills, as if she was buried in a cave made of ice. There was a smell of stagnant water and deceased creatures, and she tried not to think about it further.

Finally, she was able to pull herself into a crouch, instantly regretting the move as new bolts of pain rushed through her head. She clawed her fingers into her hair, trying to drown out the old pain, but it only made it worse. All she could do was wait again, and her fingertips sensed strains of damp and sandy hair. When she moved one finger to her lips, she tasted salt and sand, but there was something more – a metallic taste, like blood.

As the pain reached its normal level again, she forced her eyes to open, afraid of what another new sensation would cause in her body. But the new wave of pain didn’t came, and she blinked multiple times to clear her sight from the dirt in her eyes.

The room was murky and made of stone, and several driblets of water searched their way down the walls, convening in small puddles all around her. There was a light source war away, as she could make out a shining in the distance, but the source itself remained hidden. Then she saw the bars. Dozens of metallic rods buried in the snow, with openings wide enough just to move a single hand through it. This was a prison, and she was the prisoner.

What had happened? She tried desperately to remember, but besides the pain, her mind was empty and black. She couldn’t even find her own name, as if her memory had been completely erased. Tears welled up in her eyes, and the salty drops burned on her skin where they touched bruises and cuts. She suppressed the urge to cry out for someone to help her or at least tell her what was going on. Whoever had imprisoned her, there had to be a reason, and it was unlikely they would just let her out again. She had to find another way.

The solution was just on the other side of the bars, where she could make out a figure in the dark as soon as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. It was a guard, with silver braids pouring out under a helmet and pointy ears flickering now and then. They held a spear in one hand, but the slow and steady breathing indicated that they were probably sleeping. Moving as quietly as possible, she crouched toward the bars, ignoring the pain that burst out again all over her body. She didn’t even recognize that she had held her breath until her lungs were screaming for air, and she was afraid the guard could wake just by the sound of her racing heartbeat. But the Silverling didn’t move, and she could make out a ring of keys lying in the guard’s lap. She reached out of the bars with one hand, but couldn’t yet reach the keys. There had to be something long and thin to be used as an extension!

Not moving the eyes away from the guard, she blindly searched on the wet stone ground until her hands caught hold of a mossy stick. It wasn’t long, but it would be good enough to reach the keys if she was careful. Moving the stick through the bars, she realized it wasn’t wood at all, but a bone from some kind of animal that had died here in this cell long ago, the surface already cracked and covered with mold at some spots. She shivered and had the urge to drop the bone, but she resisted and swallowed down the bitter taste in her mouth. Any noise could wake up the guard, and she had to be careful. Moving slowly, probably wasting precious time, she approached the keys with the bone, until it touched the metal ring that was holding the keys. Now came the difficult part, since she had to move the keys away from the guard without making too much noise. If the keys slipped down the bone, it would be over…

Her heart still raced and her whole body trembled, but little by little, she moved the keys closer to her cell until she could grab the bundle with her hand so they couldn’t make any noise. The guard didn’t stir a bit, and it felt way too easy, but she moved the keys to the lock that stood in her way to freedom. It was hard to move the key without seeing, and the first two she tried didn’t fit. The scratching noise of metal touching metal sounded way too loud in her ears, and she always glanced toward the guard, but except of some ear flickering, nothing moved.

A loud click! implied that she had finally found the right key, and the cell door automatically opened a bit with a creaking sound. The Gelfling near her let out a sigh and moved one leg a bit, but kept the eyes closed.

Holding her breath, she pushed the door open as much as she needed to squeeze through, and when she finally stood on the other side of the cell, her body felt like fainting any minute. She was now inside a long, tangled hallway, and somewhere was the exit, but which way was the right?

Something caught her eye, reflecting the light from down the floor, and she saw a beautifully made staff leaning at the wall. It was made of wood, with a blue crystal edged at the top and crested with pearls and beads all over the weapon. It felt familiar, so she touched the cold wood with her hand, immediately getting drawn into the dreamfast that was etched into the weapon with delicate symbols. She could see two Gelfling standing in front of each other, one girl with light skin and wild curls and one other, almost fully grown up, with blue and yellow skin and tattoos all over his body, while a single braid sat on the top of his otherwise shaved head. The man held the staff in both hands, reaching it to the girl.

_Take this as a welcome gift. You’re one of us now, Sia._

Sia. Something clicked in her head, and she just knew it was her in that vision, taking the staff out of the male Gelfling’s hands. At least she had finally found her name to begin with.

The vision ended, and a sharp breath escaped Sia’s lunges. Her whole body twitched once with surprise, the staff scratching along the stone wall, making a terrible sound.

The guard woke with a jolt, and Sia could see now that it was a woman, staring at her with big pale eyes just for the blink of an eye. Quicker than she had wished, the guard realized what was going on and pulled a horn from her side, blowing inside and causing it to make a loud and consistent noise that would be heard all around this place for sure.

“The prisoner tries to escape!” The guard exclaimed then, with a voice way louder that Sia had thought the delicate woman would be capable of.

While Sia still stared at the Silverling, the guard took hold of her spear and readied herself to attack. She didn’t know how to fight, at least her mind had forgotten, but something in her hands twitched. Her body still remembered. The guard attacked, and Sia didn’t even think of doing anything. Her body moved as a matter of routine, deflecting the attack and swinging the staff so it clung against the guard’s helmet. It was enough to distract the guard for a short moment, but not enough to hurt her. The spear came crushing down again, this time leaving a bloody welt at her arm.

While the guard had to gain momentum again, Sia ran her staff into her opponent’s stomach, causing her to writhe for a moment. That was enough to bring down the elegant wooden weapon on the guard’s head hard enough that the helmet rolled down on the stone, and a last punch knocked the Silverling unconscious. Sia didn’t know how long it would stay that way, so her legs started running. She didn’t know what direction this was, if she was running deeper into the building, but she could her loud voices and footsteps in the distance. They were coming for her, and she didn’t want to hurt any more Gelfling, much less killing one of them. The light got brighter as she approached, but she could also see shadows of more armed guards. It was only a matter of seconds until they would see her, and just in time she found a niche in the wall to hide in. At least seven or eight guards ran past her, shouting orders to find and kill that prisoner. More were on their way, that much could she make out from the noises she heard, so she crouched through the niche that led into a small passage without seeing anything. Crawlies touched her hands and feet, stinking water dripping on her body while she scratched her body on sharp stones and bones. The passage narrowed and panic spread through her body. What if she got stuck in there? If there was a dead end and she wouldn’t be able to crawl back?

But after what felt like hours, Sia could make out light at the end. There were no bars blocking the way out, and she could even smell some fresh and salty air coming from the window. The first time since she woke up, Sia felt something like joy to have reached her way into freedom. But when she approached the opening, she realized why there were no bars. Clinging to the stone walls on both sides, Sia stared down at a cliff far down, with spiky rocks that were mostly covered by the deadly waves that crushed against the stone with immense strength. There was no other way, no ladder or walkway to get down, so jumping was her only option.

Wings. A single word came into her mind, and even though it felt terribly wrong, she readied herself as much as she could in her crouching position, then she pushed herself off the stone, a sharp wind bringing tears to her eyes during the free fall. But there were no wings opening at her back, just a dull pain where muscles tried to move something that was no longer there.

Realizing what was just happening, she fell towards the craggy cliffs with no way to stop her.


	2. Shelter from the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thousands of questions, and there was not even a single answer.

After jumping into her inevitable death, Sia didn’t expect to ever wake up again. When she felt warmth on her face despite the freezing rest of her body, she expected to have returned to Thra, but bit by bit the throbbing pain in her head came back, together with the hurt of some other small injuries all over her body. There was no pain after dying, was it?

Sia opened her eyes and stared into a cloudless sky, with all three suns shining brightly above her. A chilly breeze still brought the smell of sea water, and she could still hear the rushing waves against the cliffs, so she couldn’t be far away from her prison. She straightened herself into a mostly upright position, and immediately the world started to swirl around her.

“Whoa, whoa, careful there! Wouldn’t be that rash if I was you”, came a rough voice, and Sia turned, slowly this time, to see who was speaking. Not far away sat a Vapra dressed in simple clothes, with long blond hair tied together in one thick braid and a friendly smile that overlay his wrinkled face and missing teeth. Although his clothes were not too thick and he didn’t wear a coat, the cold didn’t seem to bother him while their breaths came out in soft white clouds.

Maybe he was a fisherman, for he obviously had found and saved her. Now he sat on his knees, the beautifully made staff lying right beside him in the grass. Though he didn’t seem as if he would attack, and when his eyes followed hers, he lifted the staff and threw it in her direction.

“You were lucky I saw you falling. That weapon almost made off with the current. What a shame it would have been…”

The Silverling chuckled, and Sia’s fingers closed around the smooth wooden staff. He didn’t seem to intend to harm her, since if he wanted to reveal her to the guards, he would have done so already, and her shoulders relaxed a bit.

“Who… who are you?” she asked, checking if there really were no broken bones or other severe injuries. But all she could find were bruises and slight cuts, the new ones covered with green moss but most of them already seemed to heal up so they had to be older.

The Vapra shrugged without losing his grin. “Names don’t matter here, I guess. The guards of the All-Maudra are searching for a prisoner that escaped the citadel all through Ha’rar, and none of us wants to get into trouble, right?”

Sia nodded. So he knew that she was a bolter, and still had helped her.

“Do you know why they held the… prisoner captive?”

Now the Vapra’s eyes widened just a bit, and he leant forward in the grass. “I don’t. And I don’t want to know.”

He sighed and got up, beating some dust from his clothes. “Listen. If I were you, I’d flee this place as fast as possible. There’s an old boat down the shore, but I don’t know if it’s still working. Worth a try though; wouldn’t enter the city now if I were you.”

The Silverling disappeared without any further comment, leaving more questions than answers.

The moss had caused the wounds to stop bleeding, and Sia removed it bit by bit. It was likely she had been lucky to miss the sharp edges of the cliff, but her clothes and hair were still damp from the water. Voices could be heard in the distance and reminded her that there were still guards searching for her, so she got up and climbed down until she reached the shore.

As the Vapra had said, there was a small bay where the waves were less rampaging, and Sia could make out the boat her savior had been talking about. She wouldn’t have called this a boat though, more likely a rotting pile of wood. It didn’t even have sails, just a single paddle that would surely break into pieces as soon as she pushed it into the water. But there didn’t seem to be another way, and id didn’t feel as wrong as just jumping out into the sea. What had she been thinking anyway? Though she could feel the muscles on her back, there were no wings attached to them. At least not anymore.

Shaking her head, Sia stepped into the icy water, crushing a bit of ice with her sandals. The low temperature felt like thousands of needles on her skin, but it only took a few steps to reach the wooden scrap.

The boat was formed like an oval bowl, and some water had already gathered inside. Sia just hoped it wasn’t because of a leak, but from waves and rain, and she climbed in. The wood creaked scarily loud and swayed to both sides, but she managed to keep her balance.

With a last glance towards the Vapran city, Sia took the paddle, removed the string that held the boat at its place and pushed her boat away from the shore. The cold water and air made her freeze, and she wished for something to wrap in, but at least the movement of her arms gave a bit warmth. With her tiny nutshell, Sia decided to stay close to the cliffs, with just enough distance so the waves wouldn’t crush her against the stones. But this boat wasn’t ready for the strong currents out on the sea, and Sia didn’t want to nearly kill herself a second time so soon.

The second sun already set when Sia decided to rest, and she steered into a small bay that would prove shelter from most of the waves. While the air was still cold, she couldn’t see that much snow on the land anymore, and she even found a small cave right in front of the shore. Her body was stiff and hunger and thirst ached more than the bruises, and Sia wished for nothing more than a warm blanket and hot ta. The wood lying around was too damp to make a fire with it, and it didn’t look any better in the cave. At least there was a small rivulet quenching her thirst, and a few crawlies where there too. She was too hungry to think about it too much when she swallowed one of the slimy and hairy grubs, and her stomach revolted, but she managed to keep it in. Those would for sure have been tastier roasted over a fire, but it was better than starving. Who knew when would be the next time she got something good to eat?

Sia found a place inside the cave that was not as damp as the rest, and curled herself up as close as possible to preserve the warmth she still had. Her own trembling body woke her up several times, and when a first ray of sunshine entered the cave, there was no feeling of restfulness.

She stretched with a groan, drank from the rivulet again and attempted to search for more crawlies, but decided against it when her stomach protested. Her whole body felt like a single cube of ice, and she didn’t even properly feel her hands or feet anymore. When the warmth of the first sun touched her face, she halted and closed her eyes to enjoy it for a few moments.

Her heart missed a beat when she searched the small bay for her boat and couldn’t find anything but a piece of rope floating in the waves. Desperate curses were only answered by a soft breeze, and there was nothing she could do. Her knot hadn’t been strong enough and the current had taken her small nutshell out into the open ocean, with no chance of getting it back. Now walking was the only option, and Sia stowed the staff on her back and searched for a way to climb up the stone walls. While she felt comfortable on the water, this was certainly not one of her strengths, and it took many tries and more bruises and cuts to get up. She almost fell down more than once, slipping down multiple times, but again her curses were only heard by the wind and the sea. Not that one of them cared.

At the end of her ascent waited a small reward at least, when the rugged landscape was vegetated with green meadows and small bushes here and there. Sia could even find some berries that withstood the still cold air and freezing nights so far north, and after carefully tasting one to see if they were edible, she filled her empty belly with as much berries as she could find. Her clothes were covered in berry juice eventually, but Sia didn’t care much since most of it was already dirty and torn.

She wandered on, following the cliffs to her right side, searching for some food now and then or clean water to drink. When the three suns stood highest, she found a small spring big enough to bathe in, but both water and air were too cold. While she desperately longed for a hot bath, this was not the right place, at least if she didn’t want to catch a cold immediately after.

With the hours passing, the air lost its chill bit by bit, the meadows grew wider and the first trees appeared, though they were still small and crippled due to the harsh ocean winds. Her feet ached and were covered in blisters, but she didn’t feel the pain anymore. Her body automatically walked while her mind tried to figure out everything that was still missing. No memory had come back so far except her name and the short vision of that Gelfling giving her the staff. Who was she, and where did she come from? Why had she been imprisoned, and by whom? Where was she supposed to go?

Thousands of questions, and there was not even a single answer.

Something colorful caught her eye, and she looked down the cliff to see what it was. It looked like a tent, built with huge bones and brightly painted skins, but there was no ship nearby or any other sign that someone was using it. Sia was even able to find stairs that had been carved into the cliff walls and carefully climbed down the uneven steps until her feet touched the sand. The tent was partly covered with sand, but the bones were anchored deep in the ground so it would withstand the unpredictable coast weather. A heavy tarpaulin served as an entrance, and Sia shoved it aside to step into the tent. No Gelfling had been here lately, as sand covered most of the furniture and it smelled a bit moldy, but otherwise it looked like a shelter that was kept in good condition by travelers.

In the middle was a fire pit with a wooden rack to cook upon, on the left lay a pile of blankets and pillows in all colors and on the right stood five chests, all locked as Sia tried to open them.

A pile of fire wood was set up in one corner to ensure the hearth could always be lit, and there were even some fire stones. Despite her hands still being stiff, Sia was able to make a small fire and just stared into the flames while her body was heating up. The smoke could escape through an opening in the upper tent, but the construction was made in a way so no rain could get in.

The wind howled on the outside but the skins didn’t move; heavy rocks secured them on the ground. Paintings covered the inside all over too, and they seemed to tell their very own story. Figures of different Gelfling, animals or just writings that Sia couldn’t read, and she was sure that multiple artists had created this in the course of time. As far as she understood, this bay gave shelter to travelers, though the meaning of the chests wasn’t clear to her yet.

Shortly before the last sun set, Sia grabbed a basked laying near the fire wood and climbed the stone stairs once again to collect some more. What she could find was too wet to burn, but inside the tent it would dry until the next traveler came. It was only fair to give back what she had taken, so the next one would have enough wood to stay warm as well. On her way, she also collected fruit and berries, and stowed them in the basked together with the wood.

Descending to the tent in the dark was tricky, even more with a heavy load, but eventually Sia was back in the tent again, piling up the newly collected wood and eating berries in the firelight. She hadn’t felt that comfortable since she woke up in the prison cell, and there was also relief since the wind grew stronger and stronger with a storm approaching. There was no way she would have found shelter somewhere out there, but now she could just slip under the blankets and it felt like a bed made of cotton. It had an odd smell, since many before her had used those blankets and there wasn’t an easy way to clean them, but there was nothing more Sia could have wished for in that moment. It took only a few heartbeats until she fell into a deep slumber, while the storm sang it’s melody outside and the dying fire kept her warm until the first sun rose again. 


	3. Traveler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was one question, again and again and again, that kept her awake.  
> Who am I?

A loud and rattling voice woke Sia up the next morning. The fire had gone out long ago, but the blankets had kept her warm and daylight already illuminated the outsides of the skin walls. But it was the Gelfling kneeling in front of one of the chests that caught her eye. As far as she could see, he had dark spriton skin but the thick green locks of a Drenchen, and his clothes resembled hers, only that they were in a much better and cleaner condition. He didn’t take note of her, and she could hear him muttering softly and humming in a satisfied tone when he moved a bundle out of the chest. He carefully put it to the ground and locked the chest up again with a key he had in one of his pockets.

Sia sat up and shoved away the blankets, flinching at the cold air that hit her. The stranger lifted his head and gave her a short nod, then turned to examine his bundle again as if this was the most normal situation. Sia pulled herself together and finally left the warmth of her makeshift bed, piling some wood on the fire pit to prepare breakfast. When a spark leaped over and fanned the flame, she sat down in the sand with crossed legs.

“What are those for?” She asked bluntly, since she didn’t know how to start a normal conversation right now, and pointed at the chests as the stranger gave her a confused look.

“What?” he still asked with a throaty voice, then followed her fingers and snorted. “You don’t know?” Sia shook her head and was rewarded with a chuckle. “It’s a trading post, sweetling. One chest for payment, the other for the goods.”

“Your merchant has to trust you a lot when he just leaves you… this”- she nodded in the direction of the bundle – “before payment.”

“What are you, Poddling disguised as a Sifa? Don’t be naïve. Of course I left the payment last time I came here.” There was an irritated tone in his voice, so Sia didn’t dare to ask further and instead put more wood on the fire. Both kept silent for a while, but it was the stranger that spoke again.

“Who’re you then? Haven’t seen you before, and that face is worth remembering.”

Sia didn’t know what he meant since she didn’t even remember what she looked like except the parts she saw looking down, but maybe there were just so many bruises in her face that it looked awkward. “I’m Sia. And I’m… not from here.” At least that was what she guessed.

The stranger sat down on the other side of the fire and gave a short bow. “Khyrin. Pleasure meeting you.” Now that they had been formally introduced, Khyrin dug in his bag until he found a small bundle made of waxed cloth. He unwrapped it and revealed a bunch of dried fish and flat bread and tossed one of each over to Sia.

She caught it with clumsy hands and her stomach rumbled at the sight of it, this time with excitement rather than disgust. This was better than living slimy grubs, and while the bread had almost no taste at all, the dried fish was salty enough to serve for both, so she wrapped it inside the bread.

“Thank you”, she mumbled with a mouthful of fish, and suddenly an idea burst into her mind. “Are you here by ship?”

Khyrin nodded, taking another bite of his breakfast. “Aye. The Lantau boards my crew, and we’re headed to Cera-Na, following Maudra Ethri’s call. Not sure what that youngling has in mind now, but one doesn’t resist a Maudra’s call, eh?”

“Can I come with you? I’d pay – but I’m afraid I don’t have anything.” There were no bags she could search, and it seemed unlikely the prison guards had left anything valuable with her, except the staff she had managed to get back.

The Sifan captain examined her closely, obviously pondering if that dirty and battered figure of hers was worth or even save travelling with. He ended up sighing and nodding.

“You may, but only if you clean yourself before you enter my ship. I can’t have my crew pass out because of a badly smelling guest.”

Sia felt her face blush with embarrassment and nodded herself. She didn’t smell that much, but maybe she had just gotten used to it. And if there was a chance of getting into civilization without having to walk the whole way, she would gladly put up with a cold bath. She remembered the spring she had seen the day before and stood up after finishing her meal. When she left the tent without a word, Khyrin threw a piece of soap to her, and she just hoped he would stick to his word and wait for her. Otherwise, she would at least be clean when she continued to walk along the shore.

She found the spring with ease, kneeling down in front of it to get off her clothes. The wind was cold and the water wouldn’t be more comfortable, but it was clean. Sia examined her clothes as she took them off bit by bit, first a brown tabard with a hood attached to it and lots of decorative threads and pearls. Next came a tunic of a slightly brighter color with golden seams which had been fastened with a golden cord and a necklace made of elongated blue perls and golden round ones. She pulled it over her head and did the same with the dark blue long-sleeved dress.

Something caught her eye and she held her right arm to touch black marks that traced over her arm, disappearing somewhere at her back. Where it covered her arm, the skin felt numb, and its tail ended in the middle of her underarm. It didn’t hurt and couldn’t be removed, and Sia had no clue what it was and where it came from. She traced the marks to her back where they disappeared under the cloth she had wrapped around her chest.

As she looked around and decided that no one was there to watch, she put that off too, eyeing the gracefully worked piece of cloth. Golden and red patterns had been embroidered onto the cream-colored fabric, and she carefully put it next to her other clothes. Touching her back again, she could now feel multiple scars that were partly covered with those black marks. She knew that because at those points she couldn’t feel anything, and she assumed that whatever had soiled her skin like that was somehow linked to the loss of her wings.

Being curious now, she leaned over the spring to see her reflection in the water. A woman stared back with emerald eyes and fair skin, but blue tattoos covered all of her face. Two wave symbols on her cheeks, spirals and dots on her forehead and a stripe that stretched from her lower lip to her chin. Brown curls covered her face, and they looked as tangled and untamable as they felt. One single braid was dangling down her right side, held together by a big blue and golden bead, but the rest frizzled in the damp air.

The wind gave her goosebumps and Sia quickly undressed the sandals and pants she had been wearing. As she touched the water with the tip of her toe, a feint scream evaded her mouth and she instinctively stepped back. But then she remembered the words of the Sifan captain, took a deep breath and jumped into the spring.

Covered by the icy water, it felt as if her heart stopped beating for a moment, and she kicked water until her head appeared over the surface again, breathing heavily. It got better with some moments passing, and she tried to keep in motion to stay warm, but it didn’t get comfortable.

She dove down again to wash the sand and dirt out of her hair and then reached for the piece of soap that still lay at the edge of the spring. It smelled like herbs she couldn’t allocate, but at least it didn’t smell bad. She used the soap to clean her body as good as possible, then created foam to knead it into her hair. Next came her hood and tunic, since they were not necessary for Sia to wear now.

When she was done cleaning, Sia climbed out of the spring and sat on the grass for a while to let the wind dry her skin while she wrang out her hair. The cold wind made her shiver and she didn’t bear it that long, but at least her skin was dry enough to put on her underwear and the blue dress and sandals again. She refilled her water pouch, threw the remaining wet clothes over her arm, took the soap in the other hand and returned to the tent.

The Lantau was still there, and Sia sighed with relief that the captain had held true to his word. She hurried to get inside the tent, but it was empty now and the fire had been blown out. While she had hoped to warm up in front of the flames a bit before continuing the journey, she quickly grabbed her Staff now and stepped into the cold wind again. Khyrin stood on deck of his ship, waiting for her with crossed arms and pointing to a plank as she caught his gaze. She hurried up the wooden construct, which was immediately pulled in as soon as she had passed. Khyrin yelled his commandos loud enough for everyone on the ship to hear, and Sia watched as the sails were being set and the ship gathered pace.

While she still stood there like a helpless child, the captain signed her to follow. They entered a small chamber that got its only light by a diminutive window right under the ceiling and a few candles. Sia could make out a table and one wooden chair as well as a hammock.

“This chamber is not in use right now, so you can have it. We will reach Cera-Na before noon tomorrow, giving you plenty of time to rest. But since you can’t pay your travel, I expect you to help the crew with handling the ship. Search for Neana as soon as you’re ready.”

Sia thanked the captain and returned him the soap, and then he left the chamber, closing the door so it got even darker. She spread her wet clothes over the table and chair so they could dry, placing her staff in one corner carefully. There was no need to rest so early in the morning, but she took a seat in the hammock and brushed her hair with her fingers until it was almost dry. The wind howled on the outside and the ship swayed with the waves, and the movement gave her comfort. It felt good to be on the sea, while there was still something missing that Sia couldn’t quite tell.

When her hair was dry enough to make sure she wouldn’t catch a cold just by standing in the wind, she left her chamber and stepped out on the deck. They were on the open sea now, and she had to squinch her eyes to see the cliffs in the distance. Birds were flying in circles over them, probably waiting for some food to be left over for them. It was soothing to watch the deep blue waves and listen to their sound while leaning on the railing, and even though the wind was even stronger out here, it didn’t feel that cold anymore.

“Stop just standing there, grinning like an idiot.” A voice sounded behind her, and Sia turned around with surprise. A female Gelfling had approached her, arms crossed and burning red hair mostly hidden under a blue bonnet. The rest was also held in blue, and Sia would have considered her quite beautiful if it hadn’t been for the almost fierce icy blue eyes in her freckled face.

“I, uh… I am searching for Neana”, she managed to say, avoiding the glance of those burning eyes.

“Still First Mate Neana for you. What’s the matter anyway?”

Sia guessed that this had to be the woman she was searching for and cleared her throat. “Khyrin… Captain Khyrin sent me to you so you could allocate me to do some work on this ship.”

The First Mate laughed dryly. “Oh, good. So you’re the passenger Khyrin talked about. Well, the deck hasn’t seen some good scrubber for way too lo-“ she paused, eyeing Sia’s face more closely. “Wait a moment. Do I know you?”

The sound of her voice made Sia uncomfortable, and she couldn’t tell of it was Neana’s usual spite or if there was something personal. While Sia didn’t want to expose the weakness of her memory loss to someone like Neana, she had no clue if they had ever met before, so she just shrugged. “Maybe? I can’t tell for sure.”

Neana stepped closer and squinted her eyes, closing so much distance that Sia had to lean back on the railing so their noses wouldn’t touch. “What’s wrong?” she asked with insecure voice, and finally the First Mate stepped back again, shaking her head.

“Nothing. Follow me and get started with cleaning the deck.”

Sia did as she was told, though she tried to keep as much distance between them as possible. Neana led them to another small chamber full of buckets and mops, only to disappear so fast that Sia couldn’t even ask another question.

She ended up filling a bucket with water from a barrel next to her and grabbed a scrubber from one of the shelves. While she had no exact idea what she was supposed to do, she started to clean the railing that was covered in algae and salt at most parts. Sometimes other Gelfling would pass her, but no one spoke a word. Most just ignored her, and some eyed her with a mixture of curiosity and mistrust, and Sia soon gave up greeting them or trying to start a conversation.

Working out in the wind the whole day was hard and Sia felt her stomach rumble at noon because there hadn’t been any lunch, but none of the others had paused their work, so it had to be normal for the crew to skip that meal. At some point, Sia started to hum melodies that stuck in her mind, and though she couldn’t remember any words, the melodies alone brought comfort and distraction. When the second sun set, Sia had just refreshed the water in the bucket and was about to clean the last third of the ship’s railing. Her hands and back hurt, but she knew it was only fair to let her work since she hadn’t been able to pay for the passage.

Someone rang a bell multiple times, and all Gelfling around her stopped working and made their way to the lower deck, casually chatting on their way. “You can stop for today, it’s dinner time now”, one of them shouted to Sia and she thanked him with a smile as he seemed to be the only one being friendly towards her. She poured the water into the sea and brought the cleaning utensils back to the chamber, then followed the others to a huge room filled with tables and bench seats.

The smell of food caused her mouth to water, and she could see that every table was filled with plates of food and decanters filled with wine. It had to be at least a dozen Gelfling that had gathered here, and the noise was incredible, though Sia couldn’t spot the captain or his first mate. Instead she found the one Gelfling who had been kind to her and asked if she could sit down next to him. He agreed and ignored the reluctant glances of the others, shoveling tons of food onto his own plate.

Something felt off at the start, but after the first round of wine, the mood around her brightened. She curiously listened to the stories around her without talking herself, and it seemed as if the others slowly forgot about her presence as they ate. The food was simple but eatable, with a mix of seafood and cooked vegetables. Sia used dry bread to compensate the salty taste of shrimps and mussels and tried the wine, but decided to stick to water as she didn’t like its taste.

While the plates emptied pretty fast, almost none of the Gelfling left the room. Most of them still stat together, drinking and talking, and Sia enjoyed listening to stories of huge storms, sea monsters and encounters with traders from other clans. She wondered if this had been her world before she got imprisoned, but couldn’t imagine herself being part of a ship like the Lantau.

Night fell eventually and Sia decided to get some rest. She made her way back to the guest chamber, but right as she lifted the hand to open the door, she heard noise coming from the inside. Footsteps got closer to her, and unsure what to do, she pressed herself into a dark corner, hoping whoever was there wouldn’t see her.

When the wooden door opened, Sia recognized Neana, and the First Mate looked alarmed. Sia wondered what Neana could have possibly wanted in her chamber, so she followed the First Mate as quiet as possible. She waited in the dark while the other woman knocked on a door that looked bigger and more sublime, and it was Khyrin’s voice that answered. As Neana disappeared into the room, Sia stepped forward to she could listen to whatever went on in the Captain’s chamber. It felt absolutely wrong to do so, but Neana had been spying around in the first place.

She could only hear scraps of conversation at first, not even enough to get an idea about their topic. Neana sounded upset while Khyrin probably tried to calm her down, and one of them was walking around in the chamber all the time. Sia pressed her ear against the wood even harder, and finally as their voices rose, some words got through.

“… can’t believe you let a traitor board this ship!”

“As long as I am the captain, those decisions are mine to make. Can you even prove that it’s her?”

Neana sounded furious now. “You can’t be blind enough not to see it. The marks on her face? And what about her staff? That can’t be a coincidence!”

She calmed down and the words were slurred again. When the doorhandle went down, Sia jumped back in surprise, trying to disappear in the shadows again.

“You won’t harm that girl as long as she stands under my protection.” Khyrin’s voice sounded tired, and Neana didn’t reply anything. She just slammed the door shut, turning around to leave. Her face was reddened with anger, but Sia wasn’t lucky enough to hide from her this time. Before she even realized, Neana had grabbed her neck and covered her mouth with the other hand while dragging her away from the chamber. Sia tried to scream but the pressure was too tight, and all she could see in the dim light of the lamps was the angry face of the First Mate, pulling her into some dark corner of the ship.

As Sia ran out of air, the hand covering her mouth loosened, and she took in a noisy breath. She wanted to ask what in Thra’s name was going on, but just as she opened her mouth to do so, Neanas arm nailed her throat against the wall. It wasn’t hard enough to prevent her from breathing but still a clear message after all.

“Now listen closely, I won’t say it again. I don’t know what you want on this ship, and I don’t care for the Captain’s opinion. I don’t tolerate any traitors here, and I won’t take my eyes off you until you step down from this ship. So one wrong move, one wrong word, and I’ll take care of you myself. You won’t harm anyone on this ship, have I made myself clear?”

Sia didn’t dare to say anything, so she just nodded. Her mind was spinning and full of questions, and she couldn’t help but shudder.

“You will leave the Lantau as soon as we reach Cera-Na, and you won’t board this ship ever again.” It wasn’t a question but an order, and Sia nodded again. That was all Neana had to say, and within moments, she had disappeared around the next corner.

Sia couldn’t move for some time and just stood there, wrapping her arms around her and trying to sort the feelings inside of her while ignoring the pain in her throat as good as possible.

Neana had been calling her a traitor, but why? Sia didn’t want to harm anyone. The guard she had knocked out was enough for a lifetime already, and still the First Mate treated her like someone really dangerous. Had she been a traitor? Was that the reason she had been imprisoned, and was it because of this that the other Gelfling always stared at her with reluctance and doubts? Who was she?

Eventually the shudder ceased and Sia found her way back to the chamber. The door was still open and her now dried clothes looked as if someone had been searching for anything in them, but as far as she could see, nothing was missing. She climbed into the hammock and blew out the candle, and though the movement of the waves tried to lull her, it took way longer for sleep to take over.

It was one question, again and again and again, that kept her awake.

_Who am I?_


	4. Cera-Na

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boy’s face lost its joy and returned to a sober glance. “You don’t remember.” He whispered, and even though he tried, he couldn’t hide the sadness in his voice.

It was easy to avoid talking the next day. Sia’s mood wasn’t bright enough for socializing anyway after the encounter with Neana, and she could still feel the bruises on her neck where Neana had held her. So she tried to focus on cleaning the parts of the railing that were still covered in algae, hoping for the ship to reach its destination as soon as possible.

She hadn’t been able to get much sleep of course. More than once, she had awoken from bad dreams, still feeling hands around her throat and hearing those words in her eyes. Traitor. Sia refused to believe that was true. Her hands were not the hands of a traitor; for now, they were just covered in dirty water and getting wrinkled already. But those delicate small hands couldn’t have done something evil before, could they?

The rhythmic sounds of the water drove her into some kind of trance eventually as her hands followed the same movement over and over. Scrub, dip the sponge into the water, wring it out, scrub. The other Gelfling around her were busy too, though she could feel a certain tension rise together with the suns. It was going to be a hot day, and sweat was running down her forehead by midday, but the heat was something she enjoyed. Sia only got up once to fetch something to drink, hurrying as much as possible so she wouldn’t have to face Neana on her way. But the first mate was most likely discussing some business with the captain inside, as she couldn’t see none of them throughout the morning.

The bells rang when the suns stood the highest, and Sia almost threw over her bucket in surprise. Her heat skipped a beat when she stood up and saw something in the distance, and she wasn’t the only one filled with excitement. She hurried to return the utensils to the small chamber and ran to the bow, where more Gelfling had gathered to get a better view.

Huge mountains grew bigger with each moment, and Sia somehow had expected a huge city, but what she saw was completely different. There were no houses, no buildings of stone, but probably hundreds of ships resting in a giant harbor. Every sail had a different color, and the ships varied in size and form and not one looked like another. But one thing caught her eye immediately when it came in sight, and Sia wasn’t the only one to gasp in admiration.

She wasn’t even sure if the huge crystal formation even was a ship, but it stood amist all the other smaller ships and it definitely was the most beautiful thing she had seen since her escape from the citadel. The colors were shining bright, reflecting the sun in a whole play of colors, and suddenly Sia knew the name of this wonderful creation. _Omerya_.

As the Lantau came closer, Sia could see that the Omerya was indeed a ship, although its sails and masts were not made out of wood and cloth, but corals and anemones. It was a ship that belonged to the see, and it could only belong to the Sifan Maudra as no other Gelfling would be worthy to steer this ship through the waves. And while there were no real houses on the beach, Sia realized that the ships themselves made Cera-Na.

The ships replaced the houses and planks laid between them functioned like streets, just that Cera-Na never looked the same. While some ships left the harbor, new ones joined, and the city was as alive as its citizens.

Sia could her Neana enter the deck of the Lantau and flinched as her hard voice screamed orders to the crew. She got down to grab her staff out of the chamber and was one of the first to leave the ship. As she looked back, she could see Neana stand on the railing and watch her with cold eyes, and it wasn’t hard to remember her words. _… and you won’t board this ship ever again_.

The wooden planks moved with every new wave and she had to continue walking unless she wanted to hinder the other Sifa from getting down the Lantau, so she just followed the way that seemed to be the fastest to the beach. It led over a few other ships, and no one seemed to be bothered by the fact that their ship was used as a traffic road.

All those Sifa around her were as diverse as their ships, with many different colors of hair and skin, some with thick dreads, others with red curls and a few even had the feint tone of the Vapra. But it didn’t matter, as everyone seemed to be welcomed here, and whenever someone gave her a nod or greeted, she nodded back politely, unsure if they really knew her or were just being friendly.

Cold water greeted her feet as she jumped from one of the closest planks to the beach. She didn’t care for her wet sandals as they would dry soon enough anyway, and carefully stepped over the endless amount of tiny little shells around her feet. There was one shell that caught her eye and she carefully took it. It was a subtle ocher with purple strands at the edge, and it was still closed and completely unharmed. Sia cleaned it from the sand and carefully put it into her pocket, then made her way to the beach.

The sand was white, hot and unbelievably soft, and feeling the tiny grains between her toes felt like the most wonderful thing on Thra. Palm trees seamed the beach everywhere, spending shadow when the suns got too hot. Sia could see countless caves inside the mountains that rose up on the land side, most of them filled with water and thus unaccessable. In others, she could make out Gelfling resting, preparing food and trading with each other. Even here, she could sense the anticipation and wonderd what was going to happen.

A loud rumble from her stomach reminded her that she could use something to eat, and so she walked around the bay to find something. The first handful of merchants shooed her away as soon as they knew she had nothing to pay with, but eventually someone was kind enough to give her a wooden stick and a fish. It was small and raw, so she had to roast it herself first, but it was better than nothing.

Sia sat down at a fire place that was already lit, impaled the fish on the stick and held it over the flames. The fire was big enough for at least a dozen Gelfling to sit around, and there were already others talking to each other, telling stories about their travels, about sea monsters and heroes. It was nice to just listen to their stories, and after Sia had eaten her fish, she leant her back against a palm tree and closed her eyes. While the sun warmed her skin and the voices around her continued to tell stories, the crackling fire made her fall into a light slumber.

It was a shadow upon her face that woke her up. Sia blinked away a few sands of grain and tried to get clear sight of what was in front of her. The sky was darkening already as two of the suns had already disappeared behind the mountain and dyed the sky red and purple. A small figure stood in front of her, not taller than a child, with a dark hood drawn deep into the face. Tiny blueish hands lifted the hood as Sia set her upper body upright, and revealed the face of a Dousan boy. Golden tattooes covered his face that was sand-colored on one and blue on the other side, and his head was shaved and almost bald. He reminded her of the Gelfling from her vision, the one who had given her the staff, just that this one was like a younger version.

“Kare’Sia?” The boy spoke, almost whispered, and while the bald head made him look more mature, his voice was definitely the one of a child. His eyes stared at her with surprise, and her own heart beat with excitement as she realized that he had to know who she was. He knew her name. Her full name, as it seemed!

“Do… do we know each other?” Something in her wanted to jump up and hug the Dousan boy for possibly giving her a chance to remember, but on the other side she didn’t want to scare him. Though it was hard to stay calm when there was such an opportunity standing right in front of her, so close that she could even touch it…

The boy’s face lost its joy and returned to a sober glance. “You don’t remember.” He whispered, and even though he tried, he couldn’t hide the sadness in his voice.

Sia tried to explain, gesturing heavily with her arms, but the words wouldn’t come. There was no easy shortcut for “I lost my memories and don’t remember anything that happened a few days ago, not even my full name or who I am or where I belong.” She grabbed his hand as the boy turned around to walk away, holding him tight so he couldn’t flee. This boy was her chance to get some information, and she definitely wouldn’t let the opportunity pass just like this.

“Is it because I was too young to be of any importance to you?” He asked as he was forced to stay, and Sia shook her head vigorously.

“No! Maybe. I don’t know.” She sighed, patting to the ground next to her, signing the boy to sit down. He did, more confused than hurt now as it seemed. Sia wanted to explain, but she didn’t want all the other Gelfling to hear, so she leaned towards him and kept her voice low.

“Listen. I don’t remember you because I can’t remember anything. I woke up without any memory and now I’m trying to find out who I am. This staff gave me a vision of a Dousan who gifted it to me, and this vision is the only reason I even know my name. But the rest… It’s lost and I’m trying to find it, but I don’t know where to start. And not everyone seems to want to help me with that.” She added, having Neanas face in mind and feeling her fierce hands again.

“The moment you said my name I had hope that maybe you could tell me. Who I am, I mean.”

The boy kept silent for a while, most likely thinking about her words. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with the curiosity only a child could have. “You remember nothing? Why, did you fall off a Skimmer with your head first?”

Sia couldn’t help but chuckle at this unappropriate comment and shook her head.

Her new-found friend cleared his throat. “I can’t tell you that much since I left the desert three trine ago, but as long as I can remember, you have been a member of our clan. Erimon always said that you joined the Dousan when I was not older than a trine. You always were good friends with my brother, but whenever he and his fellas would tease me, you told them to stop. That’s why I still know your face.”

 _Erimon…_ The name provoked the pictures from her vision again, and Erimon had to be the Dousan who had given her the staff.

“Erimon… is your brother?” Sia tried to put one and one together, and the boy nodded.

“And you are…”

“Oh! Periss. I’m Periss.” She knew that name, somewhere deep inside, and had no doubts of the boy’s words, though it was not as much as she had hoped for.

“Is there anything more you can tell me? About my parents? You said I joined the Dousan at some point, but what was before that time? And how did I end up in Ha’rar?”

Periss cast down his eyes and Sia could see his head slightly shaking. “I don’t know. I was too young to show interest in your background, and I haven’t seen nor heard anything about you in the last three trine, so I can’t tell. I’m sorry.”

Sia laid her hand upon his shoulder and told him it was all right. At least he had been able to fill a few blanks, and small victories were better than none. According Periss’ words, she had to be a Dousan now. That would explain the strange tattoos on her face, but couldn’t hide the fact that she came from another clan first. Looking around, she could see many Gelfling with curly hair and feint skin, and since she had felt quite comfortable on the Lantau except the First Mate, at least one of her parents had to be Sifa. Were they still alive? Where were they? And why had she left her home, wherever that had been?

So many questions, but at least Sia had an idea where to find the missing answers.

“Periss, can you bring me to the Dousan clan? I don’t know the way, but I’m sure I can find more answers there!”

He visibly hesitated to answer, so she pressed on. “Please, I’m begging you! You said I have helped you when you were younger, and I need your help now.”

Periss made a pout, then exhaled with a loud sigh. “Fine. I’ll do it. But I want payment for it.”

“Payment? I don’t have anything valuable to trade.”

He lifted his arm and pointed towards the necklace she was wearing. “Those pearls will be enough, and they don’t have any personal value to you anyway, do they?”

Sia automatically touched the smooth beads around her neck. It was a beautiful peace, but she didn’t remember where she had gotten it from or how important it had been to her. And now it seemed to be an appropriate price for her purpose, so she nodded.

The grin in Periss’ face was almost mocking, but he clasped his hands and got up from the sand. “I will depart tomorrow evening after the first sun has set. Follow this direction and you will find a stone path,“ he pointed towards the mountainside, “climb it until you will find a sand stream and a bone ship, but don’t be late.”

He waved and disappeared before Sia could say anything more, and while something didn’t feel right about this boy, it was good to have a plan. She would meet the Dousan – her family apparently – and get answers.

And maybe someone would be able to tell her more. About her parents, about her past and herself. Maybe, she hoped, someone could even prove to her that she was no traitor at all.

As evening came, a light rain started to fall. It wasn’t much and it was warm, and the huge leafes of the palm trees mostly protected Sia from getting wet. Dozens of fires were being lit around her, as more and more Gelfling gathered to drink, eat and talk.

Her ears even caught the sound of a string instrumend, and curious for what was to come, Sia sat down at the fire where the musician sat. He was a Spriton boy, older than Periss but still no adult, with bronze colored skin and a long black braid. And when he started to sing with his mesmerizing voice, Sia couldn’t help but listen to him with big fascinated eyes.

He sang about a bard named Gyr, about the Brothers and Sisters in the sky, and with every heartbeat more Gelfling came, attracted by his song. There was another boy beside him, with skin pale as snow and even whiter hair, and Sia didn’t know what clan he was from – probably some kind of Vapran? But she knew that the other one, a female Gelfling, had to be Drenchen because of her green locks, skin and overall huge and soggy appearance.

She didn’t focus on them too deap because she wanted to listen to the song, as one of the Sisters was being eaten by the Brothers and the remaining Sisters pleaded to get her back. It was a sad song, sung in a beautiful melody, and Sia probably clapped the loudest when the Spriton was finished. He seemed insecure with getting so much attention and Sia could see him blush, which made him look even more adorable.

But the cheers didn’t last, as some whispers and screams disrupted the concert and Sia turned around together with the others to see what was going on. There were too many Gelfling to see what had happened, and she could only see a female body laying on the ground and voices calling for a healer. Someone pushed her back to get a better view, blocking her from the scene entirely.

The screams remained but were too far away to understand, and Sia got sight of something in the distance. It was a Gelfling dressed more ornate than the others, quickly making her way to the beach from the _Omerya_ , and one of her eyes reflected the light of the torches like a gemstone. This had to be the Sifan Maudra, though Sia had expected Maudras to look way older than this one did.

The Maudra disappeared inside the crowd, most likely taking care of the hurt Gelfling, but there was something else in the distance. It had followed the Maudra at some distance, but it was way too big for a Gelfling. Sia could see a feathered hat in the dark, blinking rings of gold and a sword that was probably taller than her.

It was a Skeksis, Sia knew that, but she was also sure that she had never seen that certain Skeksis before in her life. Which meant that she had seen others before, and that didn’t feel good at all. A feeling of nausea struck her and she hunched while the other Gelfling started to bow before the tall creature.

“Everyone, go back to your ships. Leave this to me and Lord skekSa. Go on, get out of here.” The Maudra’s voice was loud and clear, and the orders were followed immediately. While most were still curious and hesitant to leave, no one seemed to dare to defy a Maudra’s orders, and the beach emptied quickly.

There was no ship Sia could go to, as Neana wouldn’t allow her to set foot onto the Lantau again, and she didn’t want to search for another ship to give her shelter for the night. The rain had almost stopped completely and it didn’t look like a stormy night, and it wouldn’t be the first night she had spent outside.

Sia walked through the sand, approaching the end of the beach where the palm trees grew bigger and a small jungle seemed to grow right infront of the stone mountains, and laid down under one of the trees. The huge leafes let through a bit of moonlight, and silently humming the Spriton’s song, Sia eventually fell asleep.


	5. A Ride Through the Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A single bite of those snakes can be deadly, you know.” Periss said over his shoulder, giving Sia a both amused and worried glance. She retrieved her hand immediately, eyeing the snakes and wondering how such beautiful creatures could be that dangerous.

There was this man in her dream. The one who resembled Periss so much, just some trine older. The one who had given her the staff in her vision – Erimon. Sia still hoped that he would have the answers to all her questions, and she couldn’t wait for the evening to come. On the other side, she didn’t want this dream to end, because it was full of warmth and familiarity, and she just did not want to return to being called a traitor so soon.

The hunger forced her to wake up in the end, and Sia stretched her stiff body. She frowned as she could hear feint cracking here and there, but more because of the wet sand and grass beneath her body. It had been dry when she had fallen asleep, and Sia assumed that the rain had started again somewhere during the night, with the palm tree leaves giving shelter only up to a certain point before covering her in a decent layer of rain dust.

Exhaling a long sigh, Sia stood up and blinked a few times. She hadn’t missed the feeling of damp clothes and truly hoped things would get better for her once she reached the desert. Accompanied by the loud grumbling of her stomach, she made her way back to the shore to see if she could get something to eat, only to find the beach completely empty. The second sun was already rising and there had to be at least a few Sifa already awake and preparing for the day! But instead there only were cold fires, burnt sticks and a handful of empty bottles here and there.

Noone was running between the planks either, as if every single one was enduring inside their ship to wait for a special signal that was known to everyone but Sia. There was no use in entering one of the ships as her goal was to get further into the land side, not out to the ocean, so she instead checked the small caves to see if anything had been left there. And she indeed made a find surprisingly quick, as someone had left a whole bag filled with bread and dried fruits on the sand-covered bottom of the cave. It was enough to fill her empty stomach and would suffice for at least one more meal, and Sia silently thanked the stranger who had unwillingly helped her with that matter. Whereas said stranger hadn’t left anything drinkable in the cave too, Sia quickly strapped the bag on her back and returned to one of the bigger trees, where the leaves where still covered in glittering rain drops. She reached to one of the lower leaves, folding it with her hand and holding the tip to her mouth so at least a few drops would run down and satisfy her thirst.

She was just getting to the third leaf – drinking raindrops seemed to be a slow and tedious endeavor – as something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. With amazement, Sia stared at the _Omerya_ unfolding the anemone sails and many of the other ships following their Maudra’s example. The neverending play of colors of dozens of sails moved through the waters that were still shimmering red with the rising suns, the coral body of the Maudra’s ship reflecting the light like thousands of mirrors, and more and more ships followed, the convoy slowly moved away from the shore. While Sia didn’t care for the ships and their crews, she just hoped Periss wouldn’t be sailing with any of them so he could keep up his promise and take her to the Dousan clan.

There was a horn, and she could see one ship catch up with the _Omerya_ , and for a while nothing happened. Suddenly, Sia could feel a tingling in her limbs, a feeling that something was going to happen now – something special. And indeed there was blue and grey smoke rising up to the sky in ancient symbols that turned into a huge fire Sia could even see from the shore. She could hear words, not with her ears but with her heart, in a language she didn’t know but completely understood at the same time. The words turned into a song, a wordless melody that filled her to her bones even none of the noise from the ship could have possibly reached to far to her. Though the song caused images to appear inside her mind, shadows in front of a huge burning fire, taking their hands one after another until the fire burnt so bright it hurt her inner eye. More shadows came, and Sia could see it were Gelfling, dozens of them. They all came together to sing and make the fire grow until there was no darkness left in her vision.

The vision died and Sia lost her balance and fell into the sand with her bottom first. She breathed heavily and had to blink away the remains of the huge fire inside her head to be able to think clearly again.

“What, for Thra’s sake, _was_ that?” Her own whispering voice startled her as it felt too silent now that the song was gone. The tickling remained for a bit longer, leaving only when the _Omerya_ ’s fire suddenly seemed to explode in thousands of colors. A deep, full flute-like tone found its way over the sea, while the glittering fire seemed to spread over the Maudra’s ship, creating strange patterns similar to the ones Sia had seen in the smoke. It was too far away for Sia to recognize any details, but it was beautiful indeed and she wanted to burn this image deep inside her mind to never forget it again.

A gust of wind left a cold feeling on her skins and Sia lifted her hand just to feel tears running down her cheeks. She watched as the ships slowly turned around again and didn’t even try to understand what she just had witnessed. Ship after ship returned to the harbor and the first Sifa descended to the wooden planks while singing and dancing with joy. One came to her, shaking her hands with glowing eyes and a broad smile, pulling her up on her feet again. “We’re joining the resistance! The pink petals spoke true. Soon, we’ll all be freed of the Skeksis’ powers.”

Sia just stood there, waves crushing against her feet, her gaze lost somewhere in the distance without seeing anything while her mind tried to understand what her eyes had just witnessed and what the words of that Sifa could possibly mean. A resistance against the Skeksis? Talking petals?

As the suns rose and heated up the sands, Sia decided to search for the Dousan skiff Periss had mentioned. It would be long until dusk but who knew how hard finding the ship would be? So she did as the boy had told her the day before, ascending the path up the mountain until she fond the stone path Periss had spoken about. It was nothing more than rough stone slabs mostly covered in sand and dirt and there was still a lot of climbing to do, and Sia had to pause more than once to catch her breath. She wanted to drink, but the leaves had long been dried by the sun and she couldn’t find any signs of a river or spring nearby, while Periss had to have some water on his skiff for sure.

The palm trees disappeared eventually, making place for huge stone walls that were covered in crystal here and there, and the air went hotter and drier with each step. Sia would have expected it to become an unpleasant experience, but her heart only filled with excitement as the temperature rose, and other than expected did her long-sleeved clothes perfectly protect her from the heat instead of heating up her whole body. The initially narrow path widened and revealed even bigger mountains in some distance, and Sia eventually found the sand river Periss had talked about. It started as a tiny rivulet of sand emerging between the stone slabs but grew to a huge giant river in the distance, and there even was a construct that had to be the skiff.

Made by an enormous oval bone, the skiff was kept afload by two smaller rafts on each side and a sail mast climbing into the sky. Symbols were carved into the bone that most likely told stories of Dousan sailors and rituals, and the skiff only moved a little when Sia stepped onto its sand-smoothed surface. The main area of the deck was covered with toughened leather that made it easier to sit and walk, and it was beautifully painted with red and blue colors that had been bleached already by the sun. Periss wasn’t here yet, but near the mast was a hatch that left into the ship’s inner chamber. It was opened with ease as Sia climbed into the dark room that was not even high enough for her to stand completely.

The hatch closed above her head, leaving her in complete darkness as her eyes needed to adjust to the new conditions. But as a few moments went by, glowing symbols and luminous insects kept in jars appeared and gave at least a bit of light. The low-slung room was filled with two hammocks and a handful of barrels and boxes, nothing more. And after opening two of the smaller barrels, Sia found what she had been searching for. She didn’t care for the warm temperature nor for the stale taste as the water ran down her throat as it was still something to drink. Opening the other boxes revealed a selection of most diverse things that didn’t fit together: jewelry, weapons, clothing and even books that seemed to be quite valuable. Sia wondered how all that got into the skiff and what Periss could possibly want with all that, but it only reminded her of how little she really knew about the boy. Nothing of it was of any interest now though, and there was only one thing Sia could do: wait until Periss would return.

The sound of voices almost made her jump out of her slumber. Sia quickly opened the hatch to climb out to the skiff’s surface, only to see the outlines of five Gelfling quickly moving towards her, one of them being Periss for sure. They were discussing things she didn’t understand, but their voices became silent immediately as soon as they caught sight of her.

While Periss signed the others to step onto the skiff, Sia awkwardly stood near the mast and observed the other travelers. One of them was the song teller with the beautiful voice who could play the lute so well, and the other three had to be his companions. The tall woman with thick green dreads had to be Drenchen and the freckled girl with red curls definitely was Sifan, but there was also another one wearing a coat that hid most of his face. She only assumed was a boy because his voice was deeper than the others, while it still sounded quite young. He had a hunched walk and held his hands over the eyes protectively most of the time as if the sun was bothering him, and Sia wondered what clan he could belong to and what led such a group of different gelfling to the desert. They stared at her the same way she looked at them, and she sheepishly waved her hand. “Hi… I’m Sia.”

Periss cleaned his throat after all of them had set foot onto the bone, loosening some ropes that had held the skiff in place. “I suppose our traveling fellowship is complete now. We’re departing a bit earlier than expected, but you obviously were smart enough to appear earlier than the beforementioned time.” Sia just nodded, unable to say anything as the boys’ behavior was so much different now than it had been the day before. He seemed to be way more tense, mostly about the presence of the other Gelfling, and Sia was almost sure he tried to seem taller and older to them.

Their guide gave instructions to hold on to the ropes that were attached to the skiff, and the construct started to move with a harsh jump forward. Noone dared to speak as Periss carefully moved the sand ship through the river’s current until it had picked up enough pace to not swaying too hard anymore. It shared some similarities with sailing on water, though the sands seemed to be rougher than the waves of the ocean and a heavy wind was blowing over the sand.

“Are you a friend of Periss?” The one with the coat eventually asked, facing her with big and curious black eyes.

Sia was not sure how to answer this question honestly. Had she been friends with Periss before she had left the Desert? Periss shook his head from the tip of the skiff. “Nah, she’s part of my clan. That’s it.”

“You’re… _Dousan?”_ The songteller gasped out only to shut his mouth with his hands. The Drenchen gave him a bump to his side, but Sia only smiled as she remembered what Periss had told her. “Apparently I am. I joined the Dousan many trine ago.”

A snort came from the Drenchen girl. “I know that the Sifa willingly take in everyone who can keep up with them, but the Dousan? They’re the most reserved Clan except the Grottan, and I have never heard of anyone being able to join them without Dousan blood.”

“I… well… they had their reasons for sure.” Sia didn’t feel comfortable in this conversation and wished that Periss would come to help her, but the boy was too focused on the steer to care.

“Oh, great. You sound like you don’t even know the reason yourself. Just got adopted into another clan, lucky you, eh? Why are you depending on this boy then, can’t you travel through your beloved desert yourself?”

“Naia, that’s enough!” The hooded Gelfling had put his hands onto the Drenchen’s shoulders trying to calm her down. None of the others except Periss seemed to be comfortable with the heat, but the Drenchen – _Naia_ – probably suffered the most. Even in the short time since they had started to move, her skin had become paler and her wings looked so fragile as if they could break any moment they touched anything. While that could be a reason for her rude questions, it wasn’t an excuse at all. At least the boy’s words put an end to the unwanted talk for now as the group returned to discuss whatever matters they had to deal with once they reached the Wellspring.

The ship rode through a gorge with huge mountain walls on each side, though the river grew wider and faster the further they came. Sia had become used to the rough currents after a while and enjoyed it even more than the _Lantau._ While the others still clung tightly to their ropes, not sure if this bone ship could be trusted, Sia got up and stepped onto one of the smaller side floats. The surface was smooth and slippery, even more than the main bone, and there were no ropes attached here, but she managed to keep her balance until she could sit down comfortably.

Just inches from her, crystal white sand rushed beneath the skiff and carried them with it to the center of the desert. Like every river eventually flows into the sea, the sand rivers too would all come together in the Crystal Desert in the end. Something else appeared, and Sia looked closer to see what the black shapes actually were. Dozens of small snakes raced together with them, and at closer examination Sia could see that their bodies were not entirely black, but covered with crystalline scales that reflected the sun.

She dropped her hand inside the sand river, just so much that it would cover the tips of her fingers. The sand was hot and rough but didn’t hurt her, and once she even slightly touched one of the snakes. It was a fascinating view and feeling, and she almost wanted to grab one of those graceful animals for further examination.

“A single bite of those snakes can be deadly, you know.” Periss said over his shoulder, giving Sia a both amused and worried glance. She retrieved her hand immediately, eyeing the snakes and wondering how such beautiful creatures could be that dangerous.

“Maybe a guide of ‘How to survive in the Crystal Desert’ could be helpful.” The Drenchen contributed, ignoring the warning glimpse she got from her hooded companion.

“Assuming that I’d be able to read, of course.” Sia shot back with a glare, wondering if that really was true. She hadn’t been able to decipher the symbols carved all over the skiff, but maybe those were some kind of ancient language? Or was she really unable to read, and what about the others – how common was it to be gifted with such knowledge?

Staring at the current had become boring at some point, and the suns had moved on so the walls of the gorge were now casting their shadows all over the river, taking some of the heat with them. Sia had taken seat next to Periss eventually, and he eagerly explained to her how to handle the steer in such a steady current as the river provided. She was a quick learner and it felt as if she had known all that before, like a song that you hear and forget about it with time, but as soon as it plays again, you can sing along perfectly fine.

Periss seemed to trust her enough to leave the steer to her for a while as he joined the other Gelfling for some chatting. Sia watched from afar, careful now to not cause any friction as she listened carefully as they properly introduced themselves. She already knew that the Drenchen was called Naia, and the Songteller was apparently named Kylan. The Sifa turned out to be Onica the Far-Dreamer, and the other’s name was Amri, though she still didn’t learn a thing about his origins.

Her ears perked up when Periss asked about a talking spider and a vanished Vapran princess, and she could indeed make out a small black and crystal being sitting upon the shoulder of the Sifa, while it hadn’t talked since they had entered the skiff.

Onica eventually agreed to read Periss’ bones, and that was the point when Sia decided to join the group no matter what. Amri slided closer to Naia to make place for her, and she watched with curiousity as Periss took out a pouch and bone cup and handed it over to Onica.

“I stole those from a Sifa soothsayer,” he said and the pride in his voice while talking about thievery caused Sia to frown. “They’re authentic.”

“Love, life, or death?” Onica asked with a mysterious smile as she plunged the cup onto the leather upside down. Periss chose to hear about live, and Onica gave a quite dramatic show of how the bones spoke to her that caused a smirk on her companion’s faces.

Her answer wasn’t less mysterious, her message hidden behind periphrases that were hard to understand for someone unfamiliar with Sifan soothsaying as she spoke about a tree that had been removed and a deep wound it had left.

“…Yet you try… Restless and unrelenting. You seek love, but cannot find it. You believe it is because you don’t deserve it. But the truth is, love is the only thing that can heal the wound. You are looking in the wrong place. Outside, when you should be looking within. You look to what you can take from the future, instead of mourning what you’ve forsaken in the past.”

Those words were beautiful despite their meaning, and Sia honestly wondered what it had to do with Periss. What had he lost so long ago that had caused the whole, and what could be able to heal it? Periss kept a straight face the whole time, but she just knew that something was going on deep inside of him.

“The bones say…” the voice of the Sifa softened to a whisper as she lifted the bone cup, but a sudden gasp of wind carried the tiny bone pieces off the ship and deep into the river. Periss tried to catch them but failed.

“… that you shouldn’t ask for bone readings on a moving sand skiff.”

Sia couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden change of things, and she wasn’t the only one. Only Periss didn’t seem to be amused, but he resigned quite quickly. Onica asked about what would await them once they reached the open desert – what was supposed to happen in about two days if the wind and current didn’t change.

While Periss told them about four huge seas and one of them, the Crystal Sea, being the one they were headed too, her excitement grew to finally meet her clan. She didn’t really listen when Periss mentioned storm seasons and dangerous thunderstorms, but instead saw the face of Erimon again. The answer to all her questions, at least she hoped.


	6. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sia didn’t take her eyes off Periss, who was now crouching at the top of the skiff, waiting for Onica’s commands. He was holding onto thick ropes with his free hand, but at least Sia was close enough to reach for him when it came to the worst.  
> “On three! One – two – THREE!”

The basin of the Crystal Desert came closer as the day went by, and at some point Sia knelt down next to Periss, who had returned to the rudder, asking him if he could teach her how to steer a Skiff. Periss happily agreed and he seemed to be quite eager to show his talents when it came to Dousan ships.

Steering the bone construct wasn’t easy, but Sia soon got the knack of it. Pushing the rudder to the left would cause the Skiff to move in the opposite direction, and the sands were quite sensitive to the movements of the thin bone plate. Even the slightest change would cause the ship to turn noticeably, and Sia pushed it too strong more than once at first. She got more cautious though after Amri had almost fallen off the Skiff because of her harsh move, and from that moment she forced herself to touch the rudder as gently as possible.

Periss taught her how to use the wind as an advantage and what to do if there was no wind at all, and how she could always find the way back to the Wellspring if she got lost. Small crystal formations grew out of the sands here and there, and most of them were partially covered in some kind of moss. This crystal moss would always grow on a certain side of the crystal, and following its direction would lead to the Wellspring in the end.

As evening approached, Periss trusted Sia enough that he let her steer the Skiff alone for a while as he joined the conversation of the Sifa girl and the song teller. It wouldn’t go as smooth as under Periss’ hands yet, but there were no complaints anymore at least. Steering the bone ship felt like home, and Sia knew she had done this many times before her memory loss. And maybe, so she hoped, some of the memories would return if something she did or saw reminded her of the past.

Amri was the one to take the first watch when night fell because it was easier for him to see in the dark – Sia had learned by now that he was a Grottan, not some strange looking Vapran as she had first suggested - , and while the Skiff was not moving too fast, the others could take a rest. The slowly rocking hammocks were small, but comfortable, and Sia managed to fall asleep even though she couldn’t wait to see the wellspring.

There was Erimon again in her dream, sailing through the desert with her. She saw the black snakes swirling around them, flying through the air in fantastic movements, and she stretched out her hand to touch one of them. Their skin was slick but warm, leaving tiny black scales on her fingers. And they shimmered in the sunlight as Sia moved her hand to admire their beauty. Erimon said something to her, but she couldn’t hear his voice and his face was hidden too by some more snakes coming out of the sand.

But then Sia realized that there were no snakes anymore, but black dust settling down everywhere around her, and as she tried to shake off the scales, they stuck to her skin and grew bigger and bigger, until her whole skin was covered in blackness and she felt a stabbing pain in her back. As she looked over her shoulder, suddenly there were wings, beautiful and shimmering like the morning sun on the desert sea, but the black smoke covered them too until they crumbled to ashes. Sia screamed in horror and in pain, until she ripped open her eyes and almost fell out of her hammock.

The whole skiff was shaking and moving heavily, and after she had gotten back to her feet, Sia followed Kylan and Amri who were also trying to get back to the upper deck to see what was happening out there. The song teller said something about a storm and Crystal Skimmers, and the next moment she could see what he was talking about herself.

They had left the ravine and instead there now was an enormous never-ending desert made of gold sand that reflected the light of the three Brothers, but that was not the disturbing part. As she emerged to the surface, Sia immediately saw a black crowd with purple lightning, boiling and swirling like a hurricane, coming towards them with high speed. She had to grab one of the thick ropes as the skiff was being thrown to all sides by the coming storm, and all of them stared into the black mass with fright.

Something was approaching them together with the storm, and it looked like huge flying animals, way bigger than their skiff. Their eyes glowed purple like the storm’s lightning, and Naia tried to shout through the noise. “They’re darkened creatures! Look at their eyes!”

Sia didn’t know what that meant, but she knew it couldn’t be good and as she looked into the eyes of one creature, her back immediately started to hurt. Periss tried to pull the sail so the skiff wouldn’t fall over, and Sia scrambled towards him to offer her help. But it was no use, as the wind was too strong and the strength of two little Gelfling couldn’t stand against this deadly-looking storm.

“They came busting out of the sand-shield when we passed. We would have made it around the storm if they hadn’t been in there! What were they doing?” Onica yelled, though it was hard to understand a single word from her.

Periss tried to yell an answer, but the creatures approached so fast that there was no time for any more talks. One of the huge beasts rammed the skiff, and in the next moment, Sia felt how the whole Skiff moved upwards as it turned around in such a speed that she almost lost grip on her rope.

The skiff was racing through the sands almost vertically now, and the rope was the only thing that saved Sia from falling onto the sands. She couldn’t even feel the bone under her feet anymore as she clung onto it like a wall, praying for something or someone to end this horror. Her arms hurt and she didn’t know how long she would be able to hold tight, and from the corner of her eye she could see Periss climbing the skiff now, jumping from rope to rope until he had arrived at the steer.

“Is that a harness attached to the Skimmer?” Amri shouted from down below, but as Sia tried to look towards his direction, the sand only burned in her eyes. Periss didn’t answer and instead tried to calm down the creature – the Skimmer – , though it didn’t work. Sia was sure the Dousan’s words wouldn’t even reach the animal through the storm, not to mention the fact that it was obviously driven by some kind of madness.

Now it was Onica who swiftly climbed the skiff, her eyes red and tearing up from the sand and face filled with worry. Sia managed to wrap the rope around her waist so it would hold her even if her hands gave up, and she just wanted this chaos to end.

The Sifa shouted commands to the others while pulling out a long dagger, her loud voice shouting through the storm with ease. While Sia could only think about how to survive this chaos, Onica had already come up with a plan. Together with Periss, she wanted to cut loose the harness that had entangled with the ropes of the skiff so they wouldn’t be dragged through the sands by the beast anymore. Onica and Periss both took positions on the opposite sides on the skiff while Naia made sure to secure the sail as soon as the skiff returned to its normal position again, and the rest of them prepared to grab the ones on the sides in case they lost their balance once the harness was cut off.

Sia didn’t take her eyes off Periss, who was now crouching at the top of the skiff, waiting for Onica’s commands. He was holding onto thick ropes with his free hand, but at least Sia was close enough to reach for him when it came to the worst.

“On three! One – two – THREE!”

They cut the Skimmer loose and for a heartbeat, the skiff continued to move on its side, widely swirling through the storm. Sia had to pull herself together to not burry her face into the cloth-covered bone as she tried to silence her screams, but then the skiff returned to its natural position again.

Periss jumped in the right moment and returned safely to the skiff with the help of Kylan and Sia, and she wanted to sigh in relief and watched how Amri grabbed Onica’s arms to help her regain a safe position, when just in that moment another Skimmer emerged from the sands below them.

“ONICA!”

The Sifa disappeared inside the mouth of the huge beast and for a moment, Sia could do nothing but stare in shock. Not one of them had seen the beast coming, and it happened so fast that there was no way to safe Onica before the Skimmer got away with her.

Naia demanded to follow her with as much fear in her voice as Sia felt inside. Now that the skiff had balanced again, she unwrapped herself out of the ropes and hurried to help Periss with the sail so they could get after the Skimmer to save their companion.

Through the sand, Sia could see the shape of Onica still fighting the beast, attacking it with her dagger so it would let go of her, but the Skimmer kept racing through the desert, diving into the sand and emerging from it time after time so fast she was afraid they wouldn’t catch up with it. It was already hard to see anything and whenever a purple lightning crashed the dark sky Sia feared that it would set the whole skiff on fire.

“She’ll have to fly down to us”, Periss shouted through the storm’s noise when they finally had managed to pick up enough pace so they were racing right under the beast’s enormous shadow. The Skimmer was already so high above them that there was no chance to reach her, and Sia agreed that flying was now the only chance to get down alive.

“She can’t fly!” Amri shouted back with desperate voice, and Sia wished so heavily to have wings in that moment to be of any use. But her back only hurt with every move she made, and there was no way she could reach the Skimmer with her current knowledge and physical situation.

“I’ll go.” Naia said while taking off her cloak and her whole body was already dried out, including her once shimmering wings. They all knew that the Drenchen wouldn’t be able to do it without losing her wings too, and as Naia started to argue with Kylan, who desperately wanted her to stay on the skiff, Periss shook his head in forlom disbelief.

“Four women on this skiff, and not even one is able to fly!” He threw his hands up in the air while Sia counted them all in her head. Four? It was Onica, Naia and herself… Who was the fourth one? The shiny little spider that she had seen sitting on the shoulder of one of the others now and then? Of course it couldn’t fly – it was a spider!

There was no time to think about it further. Amri jumped up and ran towards the float and tugged on the bone until he held two of the bone-and-skin-fins in his hands. He put his arms through the rope-holes so he could wear the fins on his shoulders like wings. His voice got lost in the storm so Sia didn’t understand what he was shouting, and it all happened so fast - the next moment Sia saw the Grottan boy leap off the skiff only to be hurled up by the harsh winds.

“How does he want to fly with those!?” Sia screamed, but Periss only shrugged. They all stared to the sky and as Amri’s screams sounded through the wind, Sia was sure the boy was as good as dead. What a stupid idea! Naia would at least have known how to fly because she was used to have wings, and wouldn’t it have been better to sacrifice those instead of a whole life?

For a moment, Amri went silent. He didn’t move at all, and his body was moved through the air by the stormy winds as if he had given up. Sia feared that he might have lost his consciousness and would just drop down dead soon, but suddenly his arms started to move up and down, racing with the wind, flying together with the currents that couldn’t be seen by the eye. The bone fins became his wings and just as the Skimmer emerged from the surface again, Amri dove down to catch the beast.

It would have been a wonderful thing to look at if it hadn’t been about the lives of their companions, and Sia tried her best to keep the skiff in place so Amri could return safely once he had saved Onica. It was hard because she could barely see anything with all the sand in her eyes and she even lost sight of Amri for a while completely after he had landed on the animal’s back, and her heart paused a beat when the Skimmer began to dive down again.

Time moved on way too slow as they couldn’t see what was happening on the other side of the Skimmer, and the storm was so dense now that she could barely see the beast anymore at all. Only a huge sand fountain gave proof that the beast had finally disappeared into the sand again, leaving no sight of Amri or Onica.

“Where are they? I can’t see them anywhere!” She screamed, and Naia had scrambled towards the front side of the skiff, eyes squinched shut against the storm.

“Me neither. I hope the Skimmer hasn’t pulled them down with it!”

“Periss, do you see anything?”

The Dousan shook his head. He tried his best to look out for Amri while steering the skiff through the storm, but he seemed to be just as desperate. Not one of them dared to speak it out loud, but Amri and Onica were as good as dead. Even if they had managed to escape the beast, there was no way they could escape the storm if they got lost in the desert. And Sia knew there was no way they could search for them much longer if they wanted to get out alive themselves.

Suddenly the ground began to shake, vibrations going through the bone and into their bodies, and Sia could see a dark shadow appearing right under them. It grew darker and darker with every heartbeat and whatever it was, it couldn’t be anything good.

“Wha… what is this? Periss, what is happening!?”

Periss looked as panicked as she felt, and here was no time for him to answer as the sand shifted to the sides and revealed the dark mouth of a giant Skimmer that was just erupting right underneath them.

Once again the whole world turned into chaos and screams and fear and while they all fell into the abyss of the beast’s maw and Sia lost her grip on the skin-covered bone, it all went dark around her.


	7. Dreamfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is happening here? Sia thought, and her voice sounded like she had spoken it out loud.   
> We’re dreamfasting, Erimon answered with the same spherical sound. I’m taking you into the world of my memories, sharing them with you. Let’s take you to where we have first met, to start from the very beginning.

Sia woke up laying on something warm and damp. The ground was slightly vibrating under her skin, in a steady rhythm that resembled a very slow and heavy breathing. All around her were golden lights, tiny glowing insects inside glass jars that had been fixed on the ceiling with thin ropes.

She sat up with a groan, holding her head that was still aching from whatever had happened on the Skiff. At least she was not dead, and that was more than she could have expected.

Several Dousan sat and stood around her, playing cards, talking, some were looking in her direction. Amri and the others lay next to her, still unconscious but breathing at last. One of the Dousan approached her as Sia tried to get up, and she thought it was Periss at first. But this one was definitely older and taller, though his face seemed to be more than familiar…

“Erimon!” She exclaimed with surprise, and in the next moment, Sia found herself inside a tight hug with the Dousan from her vision. He smelled like sand and hot desert air, and he held on to her shoulders when she took one step back to look him in the face.

“Sia… I’m so glad you’re okay! I’d never have expected to find you here, together with Periss and those strangers… Where have you been all the time?”

Erimon didn’t seem to know if he should be angry or worried or both, and Sia wanted to tell him everything, if only she had known.

“I… can we maybe talk somewhere private?”

The Dousan nodded and turned around to lead her away from the other curious eyes, when just in that moment Amri moved and groaned heavily. It seemed as if the others were slowly waking as well and Sia understood that it was more important to take care of them first.

Periss stood with some other Dousan in a dim corner and gave Sia a quick smile. She was glad to see him mostly unharmed, and the others seemed to be fine too, as Naia was already awake and talking to others as if nothing had happened, except some bruises and cuts here and there. Only Tavra had taken more severe damage from the encounter with the maddened Skimmer, but she would live.

“I’m glad you survived, my friend”, Erimon said after greeting the other travelers. “I saw what you did, out in the storm. Where did you learn to fly?”

“It’s a long story,” the Grottan replied with a blush. Sia remembered what he had done in the storm to save Tavra, and she too wondered how he managed to use those bone fins as wings with such talent. But Amri obviously didn’t want to talk about it as he instead asked about their current whereabouts.

Naia grinned widely. “Tappa!”

“What’s a Tappa?” Amri and Sia asked simultaneously.

A loud groan was the answer and the ground beneath her feet vibrated heavily, while the viscous walls seemed to shift with the sound.

“Tappa isn’t a what, she’s a who”, Erimon chuckled. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

They all followed Erimon to a row of small openings, not made of glass but rather a spongy, living material. A net was fixed into the wall, leading up to what seemed to be an exit, and they climbed the ropes until Sia stood at the huge back of Tappa. She could now see that Tappa was another Crystal Skimmer, like the one that had attacked Tavra, only that this one wasn’t darkened and followed the instructions of another Dousan seating near the front.

The dangerous looking storm wall laid behind them, though Sia’s stomach still turned at the sight of it. Deep down stretched the Crystal Desert, and Tappa was floating over the sands, using the heat waves to stay up in the sky. But no matter how fast Tappa was racing, the storm wall seemed to follow fast.

“Our clan is divided into twelve groups”, Erimon explained to the group of travelers, “ – xerics – each lead by a sandmaster. We rarely gather in one place, but Maudra Seethi summoned us. My xeric and I were headed to the Wellspring when the storm hit.”

They had been disturbed by the darkened Skimmers too, and that’s how Erimon had found Periss’ skiff. Erimon told them that the Desert had seen some concerning changes too, and that it most likely was due to the darkening spreading far enough to reach the Dousan lands. But at least Erimon already seemed to know that it was the fault of the Skeksis, and when they came to talk about that matter, Sia’s back started to hurt again. She hunched slightly, glad that no one else noticed.

“So you believe?” Amri asked.

“Yes, my friend. And I’m honored to have been the one to rescue you from that storm. I’m just glad Tappa was strong enough to look away from the darkening and endure so we could find you in time.”

The talk continued for a while, and Erimon revealed to the others that Periss was his younger brother, that he had left without a word three trine ago and stole Erimon’s skiff that he had claimed his own. Amri even made Periss to give back parts of the payment because he had only taken them half way, as Erimon was now bringing them to the Wellspring.

Then finally, there was a moment where Erimon and Sia could talk with no other curious ears and eyes. Erimon lead her to Tappa’s tail where they took a seat on the thick and leathery skin. Sia slowly patted the animal’s back, still fascinated by the amazing view over the desert lands. While she had already felt comfortable back on the skiff, the Skimmer didn’t scare her at all. In fact, she wouldn’t have minded to spend the rest of her life up in the air.

Erimon took her hands and locked eyes with Sia. “Now tell me. Where have you been? I almost thought you were dead! It doesn’t fit you to just disappear like that. And it has been more than a trine…”

Sia swallowed, still searching for the right words. “I, uh… I’m afraid it’s a bit complicated. You see, I don’t know why I left. In fact, I don’t know anything…”

And so she told him everything. From the moment she had woken up in the Citadel in Ha’rar, how she traveled to Cera Na and how she had met Periss. She told him that she wanted to find out what had happened in that trine, why some Gelfling were calling her a traitor and faced her with so much distrust.

“And then there are those numb scars on my skin. I don’t know where they came from, but they have started to hurt lately. So many questions in my head, and to be honest I was hoping that you could give me some answers.”

Erimon watched her in silence for a very long time. Sia was afraid he didn’t believe her first, but after way too long, he nodded and exhaled a long sigh.

“I’m sorry to hear all that. And as you might now already, I can’t tell you what happened during this last trine. But at least I can try to give back some memories before that time…”

Sia’s heart quickened and she could hear the blood rushing through her ears. Answers, finally! She nodded eagerly, both curious and afraid of what was to come now.

“Close your eyes then, and follow me.” Erimon intensified his touch around Sia’s hands and she did as he told her.

The moment darkness surrounded her, the world began to shift. It felt like floating through the air, and after a few heartbeats, colorful lights appeared all around her.

 _What is happening here?_ Sia thought, and her voice sounded like she had spoken it out loud.

 _We’re dreamfasting_ , Erimon answered with the same spherical sound. _I’m taking you into the world of my memories, sharing them with you. Let’s take you to where we have first met, to start from the very beginning._

The lights blurred and changed into a landscape, and Sia could see the desert around them, with the hot floating sands and glittering crystals reaching to the sky. Sia saw Erimon when he was still a boy, not older than Periss was now. He was travelling together with other Dousan on a huge skiff, and there were headed towards the shore of Cera Na.

_Far across the sea, there is another Gelfling borough. It’s a gathering of Gelfling from all clans, Dousan, Sifa, even Vapra. While I have never been there, I know that it has been your home for a very long time. Though you loved to travel over the sea with some Sifa merchants, and we met many times when we were young._

Erimon showed her visions of when they both were young, laughing and chasing each other through the sands of the Sifan shore as well as the Dousan sands. They had both travelled on a skiff together, and he told her that even though she never stayed for long, she would at least visit the coast or even the Wellspring at least a dozen times a trine.

_Then, one day, you were brought to us by some travelers from the western xeric. I can’t show you what happened, but I can tell you as much as you have told me afterwards._

Sia saw herself lying on a skiff, unconscious and badly hurt. Someone had rolled her in prone position, and the wings on her back were tattered and badly burnt.

_Your village had been attacked by creatures you call the “Shadows”. They had been there for a long time, but they had never done anything – until that day. No one knows what they are and where they come from, but today I believe that it has something to do with the Skeksis and the Darkening. Their touch was deadly and they killed many of the Gelfling living there, including your parents. You could flee as by a miracle, but they destroyed your wings beyond retrieval. A Sifa merchant picked you up on the shore and brought you to Cera Na, because the Shadows can’t cross the water, and then you were carried to the Wellspring because we believed that your injuries could be treated best there._

The vision changed and the younger version of Sia was now lying in a pile of pillows, her back covered in bandages and her skin red as if she was running a fever.

_You almost died, but our healer managed to safe you, even though your wings had to be removed completely. All that was left were those weird marks where the Shadows touched you._

Sia saw how the bandages were removed and swallowed at the sight of the red scars mixed with black. But there was no doubt that the marks only covered her backside, as her shoulders and arms were clear of any signs of injury.

 _And then I became part of the Dousan?_ She asked, thinking of the vision where Erimon had given her this beautiful staff. Erimon hummed in approval.

_Maudra Seethi had known you already from your many visits and accepted to take you in. I had no doubts that you wanted to live the Dousan live until you’d die, but then… you disappeared without a single note. I searched for you through the whole desert, but you were gone._

And now she was back, but she felt like someone else just carrying the same face and name.

The dreamfast ended and Sia inhaled sharply. “That was… exciting.” She whispered, trying to find her bearings again.

“You said that you feel pain in your back?” Erimon asked, and Sia nodded.

“Would you mind showing it to me?”

Sia hesitated for only a moment. There was no reason to distrust this man, as he had been the one saving her from the storm and giving back at least some memories of her past to her. She carefully took off the brown hood and slipped out of the sleeves of the blue fabric of her dress. Then she turned around, holding onto the dress so it still covered her chest, but letting it fall down enough on her back to reveal the scars.

Erimon inhaled sharply and his warm fingers hesitantly touched her skin. Sia winced at the touch, trying to look over her shoulder to look into dark eyes filled with worry. “What… what is it?”

“Those marks have grown a lot since the last time I’ve seen them. And it makes me worry that they start to cause you pain.”

“They… grow? What does that mean?” She turned around her right arm to see where the black traces faded somewhere on her underarm. The fact that whatever that was seemed to grow made her shudder, and she felt the strong urge to wash away or cut out whatever was there inside her body.

Erimon shook his head. “I can’t tell. But you should see a healer as soon as we reach the Wellspring, maybe there is something that can ease your pain.”

“Will the pain get stronger? Why is it growing? What will happen when it reaches my fingertips, when there’s nothing more to grow?” _Will it kill me?_ Sia was afraid of those thoughts rushing through her mind, but Erimon couldn’t give her an answer. He only hugged her tight again, carefully patting her back while avoiding the scars of where her wings had been.

“Oh, Sia… if only I would know.”


	8. Another Fire Lit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deep down, there was a foreign sound of music, different from the Dousan instruments, but Sia had heard it before. It was like the firca that the Spriton songteller used, and its song was full of life and hope.

The Wellspring was a truly beautiful place. When Tappa descended in easy spirals, Sia tried to take in as much of the beauty as possible. It all seemed familiar somehow – the shimmering reflection of the sun in the long lake, the amber trees with huge roosts inside their crowns, and the sweet scent that covered the whole place.

Sia climbed down a wooden ladder and sighed when her feet touched the hot sand. For days, she had wanted nothing more but to arrive at this place, hoping that it would bring along answers to all the questions she had in her head.

Now there were more questions than answers, but she was still glad to be here. _Home_.

All of them followed a footpath, led by Erimon in his long red cloak. They passed tents and canopies, other Dousan bowing towards the Sandmaster, some of them even waving at Sia. She returned the greetings sheepishly, not knowing how she should act since she didn’t remember those people and her relationship to them. There was probably a lot that Erimon still had to tell and show her through Dreamfast, if he wanted to help her that much. The last thing Sia wanted to be was a burden to him, but at the same time, she felt lost in all this familiarity.

The dark and scary storm wall lingered behind the Wellspring, and even though Erimon had told them that the storm wouldn’t get here, Sia still had doubts. But right now, there was nothing she could do, so she followed Erimon and the other travelers to wherever he was leading them.

Amri asked if the Dousan had already lit their fire, and Sia immediately felt the might of what she had been allowed to witness back in Cera Na. While Erimon didn’t understand the question at first, she did. And she wanted to see the Dousan fire to be lit so badly, just because it would mean to feel the power of solidarity again.

“An ancient sage brought us these traditions”, Erimon told them, “when the Dousan first found the Wellspring. He taught us to meditate, to guard the rituals of the earth and the song of Thra. It is our way to guard those rituals as well, in his absence. In the tranquility of that meditation, if Thra wishes to speak to us, it will. It is all we can do, to surrender to that wisdom.”

So Erimon wanted to light the fire by meditating? Sia wasn’t sure if this was how it worked, but she hadn’t been close enough when the Sifa had lit their fire either. Maybe each clan had their own way to light it, and this was how the Dousan did it?

She wanted to ask the Sandmaster if she was allowed to take part in the rituals, but in the moment she opened her mouth to speak, Erimon pointed towards an empty tent next to them.

“Now! Night falls soon, and the desert is more dangerous then. In the morning, meet me at Tappa. I will take you across the sands again so you may continue your journey, knowing the Dousan are with you in spirit. In the meantime, use this tent, and the Wellspring itself, as your own. I must go and meet with the Xerics, to prepare for Maudra Seethi’s arrival.” He bowed to the other travelers as they entered the tent, but then he turned to Sia. “But I want to talk to you first.”

They strolled along the path for some time longer without speaking a word, but then Erimon stood still and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I am glad that you’re back home, even though you’ve chosen dangerous times for your return. There are some really important matters that I have to attend tonight, but I want to talk to you in private as soon as possible. Maybe we can find out something more about what happened to you after you left, and what can be done about this spreading sickness.”

“You… you have to prepare the meditation ritual, right?”

Erimon nodded. “Exactly. Maudra Seethi will be the one to lead it, but things need to be settled before that, and that’s the duty of us Sandmasters.”

Sia swallowed, hesitating with her next question. “Is is possible for me to attend the ritual too?”

Eyes widening with surprise, Erimon tightened the grasp on Sia’s shoulder. “Of course it is! You’re one of us. You have the same right to meditate as any other Dousan.”

That was exactly what Sia needed to hear, and she answered Erimon with a thankful grin. The Sandmaster soon disappeared to greet the other xeric leaders as they arrived one after one, and Sia felt a bit lost.

Sure, she was home again, but what was home if there were no memories left? On top of that, the atmosphere seemed to be tense, and the storm wall came closer with every passing hour. Erimon had said that the storm wouldn’t get into the valley of the Wellspring, and Sia really wanted to trust the handsome Dousan, but it looked too dangerous to just pass away.

While waiting for the evening to come, Sia busied herself with strolling around the Wellspring. Most of the small tents were taken by Dousan to rest and sleep, but there were also some bigger ones for common use.

In one of them, she spent most of her time, because there were some musicians playing on instruments made out of bone. One had a bone flute that was as large as her arm, and the other played on a drum that was covered with painted leather. There were no vocals, but the instruments sounded fascinating enough and the rhythm was almost like a trance.

During the day, there always were some Dousan who greeted her with a silent boy or the clasp of hands, but to Sia’s surprise, no one was talking. Was that part of preparing the ritual? And when exactly would it begin?

She had hoped that such memories would return as soon as she experienced them again, though there was nothing but silence inside of her. Once the musicians laid down their instruments, Sia searched for some water and food and was glad that a sturdy Dousan offered her some without asking for payment.

Like the others, she took the offer with a deep bow and sat down at the lake to eat. The fruit was almost too sweet for her taste, but mixed with the water, it was quite tasty. Yet the sandstorm grew stronger and she had problems keeping the sand off her meal, and she threw another worried look into the still darkening sky.

More and more Dousan were gathering around the lake, sitting down with their legs crossed, and no one was talking. The ritual seemed as if it was about to begin, and somewhere in the distance, she could see several Dousan wearing red capes and Erimon among them.

There was a rhythm again, deep and vibrant, and she felt it more through the roots she sat on than she could hear it. Several drummers had taken seat around the water, so their sound would reach every single Dousan.

To her right, Sia could see that a bone cup was going around and everyone was taking a sip. It soon arrived at her place, and she followed the example of the others. The liquid was slabby and bitter, and it instantly blurred her mind.

She quickly passed on the cup before the dizziness would cause her to drop it. Everything turned around her and Sia closed her eyes. The drumming got more intense, and she felt her heartbeat adjust to its rhythm.

With her eyes closed, it was a wonderful feeling, because she didn’t see the world turn around her anymore but could focus entirely on the message of the drums. Even the thunder was pushed to the deepest corners of her mind and she gave in to the sensation.

It was kind of similar to the Dreamfast she had shared with Erimon on Tappa’s back, just that this wasn’t only between two Gelfling. She felt connected to all Dousan sitting around the lake, and without opening her eyes, she could see a silver strand that connected her body with all the others. Those silver filaments covered all the roots, caused them to glow even deep down the lake. She didn’t know if it would look like that with one’s eyes open, but Sia didn’t feel the need to see anyway.

This was absolutely beautiful, and suddenly her heart wasn’t empty anymore. It was filled with the feelings and thoughts of so many other Dousan, and she could hear dozens of voices even though she understood not a single one of them.

The drum sound disappeared, but the rhythm continued to sound inside of her. Sia felt a prickle on her skin, like the rough touch of sand, and somewhere hidden deep in her mind, there was pain and worry. But those feelings wouldn’t break through as Sia was focused too much on the shared wonders that happened through the meditation.

Deep down, there was a foreign sound of music, different from the Dousan instruments, but Sia had heard it before. It was like the firca that the Spriton songteller used, and its song was full of life and hope.

Suddenly, the sound of a horn broke the silence and tore Sia out of her meditation. The sandstorm was raging through the Wellspring and there was not one tent still standing. If Sia could see anything through the sand, it was destruction and chaos, and fear filled her heart.

What was going on? How could none of them have realized the actual danger of the storm?!

Squinching her eyes almost shut to protect them from the sand, Sia tried to find the source of the sound. It was Erimon, holding a huge horn into the wind, and he didn’t wear his red cape anymore. Instead there were scratches caused by the sharp sand, and just so faintly, she could hear him call.

“To the cloisters!”

One after one, the Gelfling around her awoke from the meditation, some shaking their heads in confusion and others screaming out in surprise of the storm. They arose, pulling up others with them, and a shaking hand was grabbing Sia’s shoulder too.

“Where are we going?” She tried to scream as the Dousan led her through the sand, but the storm swallowed her voice completely. Sia tried to cover her face with one hand, but the sand was raging too much. The fabric of her dress had sheltered her from the force without taking too much damage, but uncovered parts of her skin were already covered in cuts and scratches.

There was no way she could see a path or aim, and luckily the other Dousan seemed to know the way. In an instant, the wind and noise stopped as they entered a cave, and Sia leant against the cold stone wall, breathing heavily and rubbing her hurting eyes.

It took a moment for her to see that there were already many other Gelfling inside this cave, holding hands and bowing their heads towards the ground. She saw Kylan playing his firca, and the voice of his flute mixed with the deep humming of the Dousan.

Sia didn’t need to ask to understand, as she quickly grabbed the hand of the Dousan standing next to her and following their example. She closed her eyes and bowed her head towards the ground, and the connection returned immediately.

Her voice mixed with the hum of the others, and it became a powerful chant, even though she didn’t know what its purpose was yet. The silver lines returned, but this time, they changed into pink and gold and pulsated stronger with each voice that joined them.

The storm lost its power, and this time it was not just Sia’s mind suppressing the sound. This time, it was real, and she felt another power grow stronger and rise with the sound of the Dousan voice.

A sudden heat fell upon Sia’s face and she couldn’t help but open her eyes. As she did, a loud gasp escaped her mouth as her eyes fell upon an ethereal fire burning with the colors of a rainbow. It was similar to the fire she had seen in Cera Na, only that this time, she was part of it and close enough to feel its warmth.

Etchings appeared on the walls, showing a huge tree and Dousan meditating around it. Sia even thought to recognize Erimon and Periss under them, and also Kylan playing his firca. She had never seen something that beautiful before in her life.

Through the flames, other faces became visible. Other clans, more Gelfling staring into the flames of resistance. But those images disappeared within the blink of an eye, leaving only warmth in all their hearts and the certainty that they were not alone.

The song ended and the flame died, but the feelings stayed. Sia watched as the Dousan around her rose up again, examining each other with surprise and wonder. Then she heard voices from outside the cave, shouts of disbelief and joy.

She quickly ran out of the cave to see what was going on and almost stumbled through the sand as she caught sight of a huge tree that had appeared in the middle of the lake. Where had only been azure water before, now rose a winding tree high into the sky, and the storm clouds had disappeared completely. The sky was burning now, not with storms, but with the rising sun promising a completely new day. A new beginning.

The sight of this tree made her forget about the destruction for a moment. She didn’t care about the torn skin and broken bones lying all around the Wellspring where once had been tents, and instead clasped other Dousan in her arms who were as relieved as her without the need to fully understand what had just happened.

A deep moan ascended through the ground, and Sia could hear the sound of dozens of Skimmers answering in return. One after one, the huge but gentle animals dove through the surface of the sand after hiding from the storm deep underground.

Multiple hands pointed towards the sky, and Sia could see another Skimmer approaching fast. It looked wrecked, its saddle completely destroyed and its leather skin covered in painful looking wounds.

The Skimmer almost crashed into the sand with no strength left to land properly, and Sia followed the example of others and grabbed buckets and other vessels that hadn’t been destroyed to collect water for the Skimmer and its crew.

“Sandmaster Rek’yr! What happened! Where’s Maudra Seethi?” She heard Erimon’s voice as she offered a completely dried out Dousan some water.

“We were caught by the storm wall. We backed off to the south, hoping it would break, but it never did. While we waited along the southern end, a windsifter came.”

“From Ha’rar?” Naia asked now, who came near with Amri’s arms around her shoulders.

“Yes. Tragedy has struck. Maudra Seethi has left us to head its call.”

Sia could see the Sandmaster hand over a scroll to Erimon, and the Dousan’s eyes opened wide as he read the words written on it. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be something good, and Rek’yr’s next words proved her worst worries.

“The _Maudra_ have been summoned to Ha’rar by Princess Seladon. All-Maudra Mayrin is dead.”


End file.
